Let’s face it: This daily drama involving Alex Smith and Colin Kaepernick has been good for business. The 49ers are 2-0 since the identity of their starting quarterback became splashy headline fodder, with a resounding victory over a division leader (the Bears) and an impressive road win over one of the NFL’s hottest teams (the Saints).

But Harbaugh’s delicate juggling act will implode, quickly and destructively, if Smith – the perfect gentleman to this point – lets his simmering frustration bubble into open anger. Harbaugh thus offered a pre-emptive strike during his weekly news conference, the coaching equivalent of tossing roses at his spurned leader.

“Alex Smith is our starting quarterback,” Harbaugh said. “He has not done anything to lose that job. He’s playing at a very high level. And you can’t categorize Colin Kaepernick as a backup quarterback, because he’s started games and played very well.

“It’s a unique situation: You have two quarterbacks playing at a very high level. One’s your captain, your starting quarterback. The other has played great football the last three games.”

So it’s settled: Steve Young will start Sunday’s game in St. Louis.

Harbaugh danced around his latest decision, saying he probably will name this week’s starter Wednesday. He won’t wait as he did last week, because he wisely realized it’s more important to save his players from another barrage of “Who’s your quarterback?” questions than it is to officially keep the Rams guessing.

Really, there cannot be any doubt about who will start. That train already left the station, moving swiftly and decisively and unleashing laser-beam passes. Call it the No. 7 train.

Is this fair to Smith, merely 19-5 since Harbaugh became San Francisco’s head coach and this year’s league leader in completion percentage? No way.

Does that matter? No way.

Harbaugh’s absolute only responsibility is deciding what’s best for the 49ers right now. He cannot make his decision based at all on Smith’s feelings, Kaepernick’s popularity or what Harbaugh’s barber or babysitter thinks.

Smith has become a very good quarterback in the past year and a half, but Kaepernick clearly adds an extra dimension with his scrambling/running ability and a stronger arm on downfield routes – and he’s making good decisions, with a Smith-like aversion to turnovers.

It’s still important for Harbaugh to pacify Smith, because one shot to Kaepernick’s head and suddenly the 49ers need good ol’ No. 11 in a big way. Harbaugh no doubt heard what Fox analyst Troy Aikman said on Sunday’s telecast, that Smith told him, “I don’t think I’ve done anything to lose my job.”

In a stunning coincidence, Harbaugh used the same words Monday. Eerie.

Smith looked forlorn throughout the game, as if his dad wouldn’t let him join his buddies on the playground. Television cameras showed him standing on the sideline in the first quarter – wearing his helmet, the playsheet attached to his left forearm, a football cradled between his side and left elbow.

Put me in coach, I’m ready to play. Today.

Aikman noted how gracefully and diplomatically Smith has handled this whole saga, implying not many starting quarterbacks would similarly muffle their outrage. Others have suggested Smith would be smart to voice his outrage.

Harbaugh did not take kindly to this suggestion from “so-called subject matter experts.”

“They talk about, ‘You should be making a fuss about it or a stink about it, you shouldn’t be that accommodating,’ ” Harbaugh said. “It sends a completely wrong message to young athletes out there, or high school quarterbacks, where their coach is trying to tell them it’s about the team and all of us working together.

“That one gets me upset. That’s not what our two guys are about. They’re great team guys and we need them both.”

Harbaugh had some measure of cover the past two weeks, given Smith’s concussion Nov. 11 and lingering symptoms. Harbaugh suggested that was a factor in the decision to start Kaepernick in New Orleans, even though Smith was medically cleared.

Sunday will mark three full weeks since the concussion, and Harbaugh made it clear Smith’s health will not play into this week’s decision. “I feel good about that now,” Harbaugh said.

He also should feel good about handing the ball to Kaepernick – even as he whispers sweet nothings in Smith’s ear.